Planet TARDIS: The Wolf and the Storm
by orchids117
Summary: In a world where factions rule, and loyalty is paramount, Rose Tyler excels. That is, until she meets a man called the Doctor. A man she despises. But when rumors of a Dalek weapon uncover a conspiracy that could destroy half the planet, these two unlikely companions must work together to save the world. (Story on hiatus until further notice)
1. Preface

**This is just a small taste of a new story I'm working on. Just a heads up, it will be part of a series. All reviews are welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights to Doctor Who belong to the BBC.**

* * *

 **Preface.**

In the most chaotic dimension, in the farthest corner of the most disorganized universe, in the smallest of galaxies, in a solar system isolated from all others by ionic storms, there was a planet. It was nothing special. It was just the third planet in a line of spectacular planets. Compared to its brothers and sisters, it was ordinary, really. It didn't have the rings of Asmion, or the moons of Boinov. It didn't have the swirling ice storms of Orata, or the never ending fires of Ostichi. It was just a round orb of rock and gas with a singular moon. Nothing special. Nothing fancy. Nothing remarkable at all.

But for far longer than anyone could possibly remember, this world had been plagued by war.

Long ago, the peoples of this planet lived in peace. There were the old factions—the Humans, Time Lords, and the Daleks—who had been on the planet since its creation. There were also the smaller factions—the Sontarans, the Silurians, and a dozen others—who had dared to travel through the ionic storms to come to the planet in an effort to escape the chaos of the universe around them. A universe which, in all honesty, had been slowly destroying itself nearly since its beginning.

All factions who shared the planet made a deal. They would each claim a territory with enough land to sustain their own people, and they would stay out of the business of the others.

For a while, this worked, and so they lived in harmony. But then the world grew, and resources became finite, and the race between the peoples to become to most powerful faction began. But still, they lived without war.

Until the Dark Day.

No one was quite sure what actually happened. The only recorded fact was that all of the faction's leaders had gone to the regularly scheduled conference to discuss borders and trade and the like. It was rumored that, during the conference, a known assassin from one of the factions snuck into the hall and attempted to murder several of the leaders. However, it was not agreed upon which faction this assassin came from, and this was where the strained peace between the peoples began to break.

Naturally, no one wanted to be responsible for the—then vanished—individual. The peoples began to point fingers at each other. The Daleks blamed the Time Lords, the Time Lords blamed the Humans, and so forth. Eventually, the conference dissolved into chaos, and the peace between the factions disintegrated.

From that day forward there were only two rules all of the factions agreed upon. The first of which was that every individual must be marked with the seal of the faction they belonged to. The other was that any communication with a rival faction was punishable by death.

The leaders left the conference, and the planet never saw another day of peace.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

She was so very angry.

She liked to think that she was good at her job. She had been trained since birth, after all, to be the Bad Wolf assassin. It was a title every cadet in the Torchwood program wanted to be granted, and a small number were trained from an early age to one day take over the job.

And since she'd taken over from her predecessor, Grace Holloway, mission success had gone up from 79 to 99%. It hadn't taken long for the people to start to call her the "Defender of the Earth", even though they had no idea who she was. Even the members of her faction's council regarded her as a hero. She'd call that progress.

Of course, her success rate _had_ been 100%. Until she'd had a run-in with the Doctor.

She'd first come across the Time Lords' agent on a job involving a warehouse of shop dummies. A smaller faction known only as the Nestene had somehow managed to implant a program into the dummies that would allow them to be used as hostile drones. The Humans had discovered Intel that the Nestene had plans to launch an attack with these dummies at the heart of their territory—Earth—in an effort to aide their allies, the Silurians, with taking over the territory.

The Silurians were once a large faction that had dominated the Earth territory. When Humans had first gathered together to take Earth as their own, they had been nearly slaughtered by the Silurians. Not to be a faction that would go down without a fight, Humans had allied themselves with the Time Lords, and then quickly took over the territory. Now, Humans dominated Earth, and the Silurians were banished into the lower caves of the northernmost part of the region.

Now, the Silurians had allied themselves with the Nestene to reclaim Earth. It was her job to go in and make sure that never happened.

Everything had started out well enough. She'd made it to the warehouse without incident, despite the fact that she'd had to cross three other faction's territories to get to it.

It was only when she'd gotten inside that things started to go pear shaped.

It was a rookie mistake, really. She'd be embarrassed if any of her comrades ever found out. She'd gone down into the warehouse and easily found the Nestene's supply of shop dummies. She'd started to place the charges around the room, and like an idiot, she'd let her guard down and turned her back on the dummies.

She'd spun around to find a group of them walking towards her with their arms extended.

"Bollocks," she'd cursed, before she turned to run for the doors. She shook the handles, but the doors refused to budge. Some of the dummies she'd seen on the way in must have locked the doors.

She'd turned back to face her attackers then, and squeezed her eyes shut.

Then she felt a rough hand take hers.

Blue eyes met hers as they shot open wide. "Run!" the man shouted, and yanked her through the doors.

She'd followed his lead without much thought. The two of them rushed down the hallways at a breakneck speed as the dummies kept coming after them.

"Wait, I still haven't finished setting the charges!" she'd shouted as they reached the elevator doors.

He'd held up a remote control. "Well thank goodness I have, then!"

She'd sucked in her cheeks, but followed him into the elevator without further comment. Her desire to live through this job outweighed her need to complete it herself.

The man had crossed his arms and started to tap his foot as the elevator slowly brought them to the surface.

She'd glared at him. "Just who the hell are you?"

"The Doctor," he said.

"The Doctor?" She snorted. "Doctor who?"

"Just, the Doctor," he'd answered back with a grin that lit up his eyes. He'd turned, then, to face the elevator doors, but whipped his head to glance back at her. "Why? Who are you?"

She'd raised her chin proudly. "Bad Wolf."

He'd raised his eyebrows at her. "And you think my name's weird?"

She'd rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms. "Whatever, mate."

His eyes had flickered down to where her tattoo was peeking out of her sleeve. He'd turned then, and gripped her arm tightly.

"Hey!"

He'd forced her sleeve down, and then shoved her away from him. "You're Human," he'd hissed, and reached into his coat pocket.

She'd reached out and yanked his left arm towards her. "I've shown you mine. Show me yours." She'd shoved back his sleeve, and narrowed her eyes as she recoiled from him. " _Time Lord_." Of all the factions, the conflict between the Time Lords, Daleks, and Humans was the most bitter. They were the largest three factions, the three most powerful, and they shared a border. They'd been trying to take each other out for years.

The two of them had glared at each other until the elevator doors opened.

His eyes had flickered between her and the doors. "You know, I did technically save your life."

She'd raised her eyebrows. "So?"

He'd wiggled his remote for the charges. "I'll make you a deal. Make a run for it, don't tell your faction I was ever here, and we'll call it even."

She'd narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. "And if I refuse?"

"Then I trap you in this elevator and you die a fiery death."

She'd glanced him up and down as she considered his offer. He had the advantage of being closer to the elevator doors, and as much as she would hate to admit it—he did look like he could take her down if he wanted to badly enough.

She'd let out a slow breath. "Deal."

He'd held out his hand. "Shake on it."

She'd stared at him warily for a moment before she reached out to take his hand. They shook once, and then they exited the elevator.

He'd given her a mad grin and shook his remote again. "Right then, Bad Wolf. Run for your life!"

She hadn't hesitated to follow his advice. She'd run off in one direction, and he in the other.

She'd only turned back after she'd felt the heat of the explosion dissipate against her back.

Her eyes scanned over the wreckage to make sure the job was complete, and then she'd caught sight of him. He'd been standing yards away doing the same check-over she was.

He'd tipped his head to her before he turned away and ran off towards his faction's territory.

She'd waited until he was out of sight to do the same.

Her contractors had declared the job a success. Their Intel had come in to the faction shortly after she'd given her report, and they'd concluded that there were no Autons left in the Nestene's possession. They thought that was her doing.

As she'd promised, she'd left out her encounter with the Doctor in her report to Torchwood. Despite the fact that they were bitter enemies, she'd owed him. The paying of a debt took place over any loyalty she felt to her faction, and the fact that she'd owed a Time Lord anything at all left her skin crawling. That coupled with the fact that he'd tainted her perfect job success record—even though her faction still considered it a success—left her with a nauseous feeling in her gut. She'd vowed to herself that the next time she encountered this _Doctor_ , she would kill him.

She hadn't thought she'd ever see him again. But she did.

It was supposed to be a routine job. One of the humans in her faction—a well-known ambassador under the title Lady Cassandra—had gone rogue. She had been sent to a conference gathering of several leaders of key smaller factions to negotiate their applications for Human protection against the larger factions that threatened to destroy them. Recent Intel had suggested that the Lady Cassandra intended to assassinate several of the delegates at the conference, and Humanity's leaders couldn't allow that. The delegates' factions were of great economic interest to them.

So of course it was her job to go in and arrest Cassandra before she could execute her plan. She'd thought it would be easy. She could enter the conference under the guise that her contractors had asked her to bring them assurances of its success, wait until she could get Cassandra alone, and then easily take her out.

But naturally there had to be complications. Or rather, a _complication._

The moment she entered the conference room she heard his voice.

"I give you in return…air from my lungs!"

She watched with raised eyebrows as the Doctor blew all over a well-known diplomat of the Forest of Cheem territory. She came from a small faction currently being terrorized by the Sontarans. It was their hope that, by entering into an alliance with Humans, the protection would end their suffering.

It was then that the Steward took note of her.

He looked on her with nervous eyes. "My dear, what are you doing here? I thought this was a peaceful conference."

She shot him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, sir."

He raised an eyebrow. "How do you wish to be announced then, miss?"

Rose shook her head. "Oh, I am no one of importance." She nodded towards the Doctor. "Now could you tell me, where is that man from?"

He followed her gaze. "That is John Smith of Earth. He is a member of the private security force owned by Lady Cassandra herself."

She raised her eyebrows. "He doesn't look like security."

The Steward shifted nervously. "Do you wish to speak to him, ma'am?"

Rose nodded. "Very much so." Without waiting for him to call for the Doctor, she marched towards the man himself, and grabbed him by the arm.

"Oi!"

She smiled widely. "Oh here you are! I was looking all over for you. C'mon, we've got to do a sweep of the hall before the Lady arrives." She turned to Jade. "Please excuse us."

Jade nodded. "Certainly."

Rose yanked the Doctor back towards the hall. He protested the whole way, but she only rolled her eyes and shoved him back through the ornate doors.

"What the bloody hell are _you_ doing here?" she hissed.

"Ow!" he whined, and rubbed the arm she had released. "I could ask you the same thing."

" _I'm_ here on assignment."

"Well so am I."

She raised her eyebrows. "What could the Time Lords have possibly sent you here for?"

"To apprehend Lady Cassandra," he spit back. "I assume that's why the Humans sent _you_ here."

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. "So what are we going to do about this?"

The Doctor tipped his head to the side. "Well, I suppose there are two options aren't there? We either kill each other, or we team up and apprehend Cassandra."

Rose pursed her lips, and held out her hand. "I propose a truce. Valid for this mission only, one in which we agree to help each other."

He stared at her warily for a moment, before he accepted her hand. "Agreed."

They both spun around to face the conference room doors. "I can't believe I'm teaming up with a _Time Lord_ for the second time this month," Rose grumbled. "And one with a Northern accent—I didn't think Time Lord's had Northern accents.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Lots of territories have a North. Now let's get back in there before Cassandra gets here."


	3. Chapter 2

**Many thanks to TenRose4ever, for your review on last chapter. :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

The two of them somehow managed to re-enter the conference hall without attracting attention.

Rose shoved the Doctor towards a corner that was off to the side of the main floor, but paused when she heard the delegate Moxx of the Balhoon Faction speaking.

"So this Dalek tells me that their faction is creating some weapon called "the Arch", and that he'll only let me go if I pledge Balhoon's loyalty to their cause!" he roared as his audience laughed. "So I bring out my twenty men and tell that Skaro scum that if it doesn't get out of my chambers that _second,_ I was going to exterminate _it_!"

Rose narrowed her eyes. "How come I've never heard of this weapon?"

The Doctor followed her eyes, and snorted. "I wouldn't trust the word of a Balhoon for anything. They love sensationalism and will twist any story if they can get attention."

Rose bit her lip, but nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

The two of them glanced around at the many faces of the delegates. "Many of the great and good of the territories under one roof. And by that, of course, I mean the rich." The Doctor snorted. "I'm shocked no one else is planning an assassination attempt."

"How would you lot know if anyone else was plannin' something?" Rose demanded.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Don't be so naïve."

She snorted. "You think you're so impressive."

"I _am_ so impressive!"

She rolled her eyes. "How did you even get in here?"

He held up a wallet-sized paper surrounded by leather. "The paper is slightly psychic. It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Does it now? Looks blank to me."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes and glanced at his device. "It clearly states that I'm part of Lady Cassandra's security team."

Rose shrugged. "Whatever you say, mate."

He stared at her. "There are very few people who can see through the psychic paper."

"Guess I'm just special."

He narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you are."

The Steward recaptured their attention then. "And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multiforms, the woman you've all been hoping to see. The Lady Cassandra O'brien Dot Delta Seventeen."

The doors to the negotiation hall opened and several attendants wheeled out a sheet of skin with only eyes and a mouth that was attached to a metal frame.

The Doctor leaned towards her. "I'm normally not one to judge, but what are you lot doing to your people to make them believe that _that_ is idyllic beauty?"

Rose rolled her eyes and moved to get closer to Cassandra.

"Oh, now, don't stare," Cassandra tutted. "I know, I know! It's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am! Thin and dainty. And best of all, _young_. Moisturize me, moisturize me."

One of her attendants quickly ran over to spray her with a water bottle, and Rose could just barely keep in her laughter at the ridiculousness of the whole scene. She had already known about Cassandra's…enhancements from the pictures her contractors had given her. Even so, seeing what this woman was willing to go through to keep herself young baffled Rose.

"I bid you all welcome on this fine day. Enjoy yourselves, freshen up, and we will meet in the negotiation chambers in one hour. Until then…" One of the remaining attendants rolled out a fifties styled juke box. "Enjoy some classic Earth music!"

Rose raised her eyebrows when "Tainted Love", by Soft Cell started to play.

The Steward took over as Lady Cassandra's attendants started to wheel her back into the hall. "Refreshments will now be served. First round of negotiations will take place in 55 minutes."

Rose glanced back at the Doctor, and nodded towards the doors before she slipped out to follow Cassandra.

"So what's the plan?" the Doctor asked once he'd caught up with her.

She shrugged. "Walk down into her chamber, arrest her, and take her back to my employers for interrogation and prosecution."

"That's _it_?" the Doctor whined. "Well, that's rather boring, isn't it? Very dry, not a lot of flare. I was expecting better after that business with the Nestene. And your work on that Vashta Nurada case? _Inspired_."

She rounded on him. "How do you know about that case? That was a mission of the highest priority and secrecy."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her mischievously. "Told you I was impressive."

She snorted, and continued walking. "You wish."

They paused when the building shook. Rose turned to look at him.

He raised his hands to his chest. "Don't look at me. I'm just here for Cassandra."

She turned to keep going, but stopped when the building shook once again. She groaned, and turned back towards the conference hall. "C'mon, we have to see if they're all alright."

"That's not my problem," he stated, and turned to keep going after Cassandra.

She spun back towards him and grabbed onto his hand. "If you're going to work with me it is," she said, and yanked him back down the hallway.

The sound of Moxx's voice captured her attention as they reentered the hall. "Indubitably, this is the Bad Wolf scenario. I find the inherent laxity of the on-going multiverse."

"Is everyone alright?" Rose asked.

She got nods of affirmation from the delegates in the room. Another tremor shook the room, and she turned to the Doctor. His eyes were narrowed. "That couldn't have been an earthquake. This part of the continent isn't due for an earthquake for another two years."

Her eyebrows rose to her hairline. She wasn't even going to ask how he knew that.

He turned to the diplomat from Cheem. "What do you think, Jabe?"

The woman in question shrugged. "It is the sound of marble and metal. It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Where's the central control room to this place?" he asked.

Jabe shrugged again. "I don't know, but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest suite. I could show you and your wife."

The Doctor scoffed. "She's not my wife."

"Definitely not," Rose supplied.

Jabe's eyebrows, or what passed as her eyebrows, rose. "Partner?"

"No."

"Concubine?"

Rose held up a finger. "Now hold on just a minute—"

"Nope," the Doctor answered with a shake of his head.

"Prostitute?"

Rose huffed. "Whatever I am, it must be invisible." She glanced over to the doors as Cassandra was wheeled back in. "Excuse me, I need a quick word with no-chin over there."

"Don't start a fight," the Doctor said, and she could see the teasing light in his eyes.

She had a sudden urge to reach for her gun. "Wouldn't dream of it," she quipped, and glanced between the two of them. "And remember, I want you home by midnight."

His eyes widened. "Wait, you can't just—"

She turned away and headed towards Cassandra as Jabe recaptured his attention.

"Lady Cassandra," Rose said as she stepped around into Cassandra's view. "My name is Bad Wolf, and on behalf of the Central Agencies for the Human Faction, I'm placing you under arrest for conspiracy against the interests of the faction." She pulled out a small tracking device and clipped it around the metal frame that was holding Cassandra together. "You will come with me for processing and prosecution."

Cassandra let out a cold laugh. "You're too late, Agent. My plan is already in place."

Rose raised her chin. "My orders were only to take you into custody. I'd say I'm right on time."

"And your companion's orders?" she asked. "Where they the same?"

Rose's eyebrows came down in confusion, and she glanced back just in time to see the Doctor leaving with Jabe. She huffed. "Just come with me."

"I don't see that I have much choice," Cassandra grumbled as Rose gestured for her attendants to wheel her out of the conference room.

The other diplomats talked quietly amongst themselves as they passed by. Rose kept her eyes firmly straight ahead until they had exited the building. She then pulled out the communication device her contractors had given her, and turned it on. "We've exited the building. The Lady is in custody."

"Do you know," Cassandra said suddenly. "They say that, at one point in our history, mankind touched every star in the sky."

Rose remained silent.

"I was simply trying to do my duty as a Human to keep the species pure. Do you know that the faction has been considering allowing intermarriage between the allies? It's because of the rise in the number of Halfling children born into inter-species families." She scoffed. "Disgusting mongrels, if you ask me."

Rose snorted. "Right. Because you're so pure."

"I most certainly am!"

"How many operations have you had?"

"Seven hundred and eight," Cassandra answered proudly. "Next week, it's seven hundred and nine. I'm having my blood bleached."

"You would have, rather," Rose said. "Doesn't look as though you will now."

The Lady only tutted. "Oh, don't you know better by now, Agent? Money can buy you out of anything."

"If you say so."

The car that would take Cassandra away arrived then, and Rose sighed with relief as the other agents collected her.

One of the agents, a man by the name of Captain Jack Harkness, shot her a swashbuckling smile. "Can we give you a ride back, Agent?"

She glanced back at the building and bit her lip. The Doctor was still inside, and she didn't trust the idea that he had only come to this event to apprehend Cassandra. The Time Lords had no invested interest in the woman, so he had to be here for another reason. Could he be behind the tremors they had felt earlier?

She turned back to Jack. "No thanks. I have something else to take care of."

He nodded. "Suit yourself."

She waited until the car was out of sight to turn and head back inside the building.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

As soon as Rose re-entered the building she was grabbed from behind and forcefully shoved into one of the nearby conference halls.

"Oi!" she shouted as the door lock clicked behind her. She spun around on her heel and pounded against the door. "You out there—let me out!"

She huffed when no one answered, and spun on her heel to face the empty room behind her. On the other side of the room was the equipment that had been left behind by Cassandra, including a black briefcase. If Rose had learned anything while on the job, it was that nearly all criminals stored their contraband in a black case. And furthermore, that it could usually be used as a way out.

She nodded to herself and crossed the room in long strides towards the case. "Right then, let's just see what you lot are up to." She quickly broke the case's lock with ease, and gingerly opened the top until it fell back onto the table with a thump. "Hello," she murmured when she caught sight of the files inside. "What's this?" The documents in the case were littered with valuable intel about the other factions, but there was one specific document which caught her eye.

She picked up the schematic for a Dalek weapon—something called "the Arch". That couldn't be good.

Rose nearly jumped out of her skin when an alarm blared. "Temperature control off, temperature control off," a computer voice said. "Heat level rising."

Rose stuffed the schematic into her inner jacket pocket and grabbed a nearby tool that looked suitable for breaking the seal on the chamber door. "Right then, time for a little jimmie." She ran to the door and tried the handle one more time before she started in on the lock. She hammered on the door when her initial attempt didn't work. She was starting to feel the heat rise. "Let me out! Let me out!" she shouted. "Hello!"

"Danger, heat level is above optimal temperature. Danger," the computer voice droned on.

"Let me out!" Rose shouted even louder as she tried to use the tool she had grabbed—it appeared to be some sort of spray bottle—to break the lock. She pounded it against the door handles, and then began to panic when they dented the bottle. "Bollocks!"

She threw the bottle to the side and pounded on the door. "Hello! Let me out!"

She gasped when she heard a knock. "Anyone in there?" an irritatingly familiar voice asked.

"Yes, hello! Get me out!"

She swore she could hear his eyes roll. "Oh, well, it would be you."

"Open the door!" she shrieked. She was starting to feel the beads of sweat dripping down her face.

"Hold on, give us two ticks," the Doctor said.

Rose chewed on the inside of her cheeks while she listened to his sonic work. She hoped to God he knew what he was doing.

"Temperature controls on. Heat level descending," the computer said calmly.

Rose let out a slow breath. "Now get—"

The alarms blared again. "Temperature controls off. Heat level rising. Danger."

"Doctor!"

"Just what we need," she heard him grumble.

"Danger."

"The computer's getting clever."

She pounded on the door. "Stop mucking about!"

"I'm not mucking about—it's fighting back!"

Rose jumped when the room around her let out a loud creak. "Open the door!"

"I know!" the Doctor snapped.

Rose lurched back when the lock on the door began to melt. "The lock's melted!" she cried out.

"Heat levels rising. Danger."

"The whole thing's jammed!" the Doctor shouted. "I can't open the doors. Stay there! Don't move!"

Rose snorted. "Where am I going to go, Ipswich?"

"Warning. Heat levels will reach critical in five minutes. Warning," the computer repeated in that monotone voice that she knew was meant to be soothing, but was instead driving her mad.

Rose let out a wordless shout of anger. "None of this would have happened if I had just let you rot in here!" She threw her makeshift lock-pick as hard as she could. It smashed into the wall and then fell to the floor in a dozen pieces. "You better make it back soon, Time Lord."

She paced back and forth as she waited for the Doctor to come back. If he was coming back at all. She still wasn't convinced she could trust him not to leave her in here to fry.

She traditionally wasn't very good at sitting on her hands, which made this whole process even that much more difficult. She wanted to be out there stopping whatever was going on, not here waiting for death.

"Warning. Heat levels will reach critical in two minutes."

She groaned, and slumped against the nearest wall. She didn't have the energy to continue pacing in this heat.

She briefly wondered who would take her place if this was indeed the end. Would they think of promoting Donna? She thought the redhead was much more ready for this job than Martha was. The young Dr. Jones still had hopes that she could return to her family and open a normal medical practice. She was a dreamer—this job was no place for someone like that.

Rose let out a slow breath. Was this really it? How her story would end? She had always thought she would go out in a more…memorable way. Not trapped helpless in a room.

"Warning. Heat levels will reach critical in one minute."

She did wish the computer would shut up. Knowing exactly when her death would occur was not making this any easier.

She closed her eyes.

Abruptly, the alarms stopped. "Temperature control on. Heat level descending."

She heard the doors to the chamber creak open, and opened her bleary eyes as the Doctor entered the room. "Took you long enough," she grumbled.

He helped her up with a grin. "As per usual, it appears as though I'm just in time."

Rose snorted, and shook him off as they exited the room. "Whatever you say, Time Lord."

"Oi," the Doctor huffed. "I just saved your life, for the second time might I add, I would show some respect if I were you."

She wrinkled her nose. The thought of owing a Time Lord anything made her skin crawl. "Yeah, well, thanks mate." She turned towards the main hall. "Let's just wrap this up yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Got any ideas on who might be behind all of this?"

The Doctor paused, and then rushed towards the main hall. "Absolutely! I'm full of ideas—I'm bristling with them!" He spun away from the surprised and fearful delegates to face her. "Idea number one, Cassandra planned to sabotage this meeting. Idea number two, she must have left something behind in the inevitable scenario where she was captured early." He ran to the jukebox Cassandra had left behind and smashed open the back to reveal a complicated computer system. "Aha!"

Rose ran to his side to examine the computer. "It looks like a basic automated system."

"And it appears to be jamming the building's electric controls," the Doctor supplied. "Security, temperature, automatic doors—it's all here."

"Can we shut it down?"

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small pair of pliers. "If I just…" He snipped a blue wire, and the whole system went dark.

"Did you just guess which wire to snip?" Rose hissed.

He turned and gave her a manic smile. "Just to keep you on your toes." He spun towards the delegates. "Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereof, you're safe now. Enjoy the conference."

Rose blinked, and then ran after him as he shot for the front doors. "Oi! Hold on just a moment. How did you know you weren't about to blow everyone up?"

The Doctor paused just outside of the front doors and turned to face her. "I didn't."

"And you didn't care that you could have potentially killed us all?"

"No."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Not even that you could have died?"

His eyes darkened for a moment, but then he shrugged. "Why should I care if I die? I'll just be replaced."

Rose blinked. What he'd said shouldn't have surprised her. She knew just as well as he did that they were replaceable, but to hear it put so bluntly made her pause.

The Doctor glanced behind him. "I suppose I should go before you call in your reinforcements."

She crossed her arms. "You honestly believe I need reinforcements to take you on?"

He snorted. "You and your whole team couldn't take me on."

She snorted. "Well, I'll give you a head start, and then we'll see."

He chuckled, and gave her a mock salute. "Be seeing you."

"Yeah," she said. "Be seeing you."


End file.
